Warning
by Susie G
Summary: Emily ends up in a dangerous situation that sends the team on hunt for her with Hotch fearing for her life and fear of losing her. 1st story in a continuation.
1. Chapter 1

_This takes place a while after Haley has died. I hope you enjoy. This is my first story. I do not own anything of criminal minds! Enjoy!_

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The screams and cries of the victims were embedded in her memory. Nothing she said or did could stop it, she couldn't make it go away. Her attempt to rationalize with him or draw the attention of the victims away from him had failed. She broke and lost all composure unable to compartmentalize the horrors taking place right in front of her and suddenly found herself screaming in a fit of uncontrolled rage for him to stop.

* * *

Beads of sweat formed on Emily's head as she kept a hard pace running against the red morning sky. Just a 100 more yards to go and she came to a stop trying to catch her breath. The chill of an early fall swept past her, tousling lose strands of hair across her face. She looked up at the sky and said to herself, "Red sky in the morning sailor take warning." Goosebumps canvassed her entire body accompanied with a feeling of dread. She looked at her watch and hurried to her apartment to get ready to go into work.

When Emily made it to work she went straight for the coffee where she saw Morgan. Morgan took a sip of his coffee and asked, "Did you see that red sky this morning?"

Reid heard the question as he came in walking over to his desk and jumped in to say, "Did you know that a red sky in the morning is actually reflecting dust particles from a storm that just passed from the west and that indicates that a storm may be moving in from the east and it also is a sign that there is a high water content in the air…"

Emily and Derek, followed him to his desk as he rambled and Morgan interrupted him, "So basically what your saying is we could get bad weather today?"

"Yes, and it might not necessarily be bad weather it could be just a simple rain or nothing at all." Reid finished with a grin on his face.

Morgan looked at him, "So basically were back where we started?"

Emily just laughed and said, "No we've went way past where we started we now know the red sky is reflecting dust particles from a storm that just passed."

Derek and Emily both laughed and Reid looked at them from his desk with a confusing look on his face. The moment then was interrupted by JJ walking hurriedly into the bull pen area, she swept pass the team without giving them a glance and went straight into Hotch's office. Derek looked towards his office, "That can't be good."

That sense of dread swept over Emily again. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something really bad was going to happen and goose bumps ran over her whole body. She looked towards Hotch's office he walked out and ordered, "Round table now." JJ followed swiftly behind and went in while Hotch continued and went to get Rossi.

They were all seated when JJ pressed a button and a picture popped up on the screen. With the exception of Hotch and Rossi because they already knew, Derek, Reid, and Emily squinted and leaned forward towards the screen, "What is that?" Reid asked

JJ explained, "This is a mass grave that was discovered in Bitter Springs, Arizona."

"Those are bodies?" Morgan asked

JJ continued, "These are the remains of 32 different bodies at all levels of decomposition the freshest being on top. Judging by what they found all of the victims recovered from the grave were killed this year, and there is something else." JJ hit a button that brought up a picture she grimaced and turned her head away from it. "Pieces of skin were missing from their bodies in different locations on their bodies."

"That is strange." Reid stood up and walked over to the board. "From this victim he took the skin of her forearm, on this one he took the skin off the face, and here he took the skin off the knee cap."

"Your point?" Morgan said.

"Cutting someone's skin off would be extremely painful but in these three victims none of these wounds are life threatening so how are they being killed?"

"That's what we got to figure out." Rossi said.

Hotch stood up, "Wheels up in ten we will have time to brief more on the plane."

On the plane everyone was sitting with the case file open when Garcia buzzed in on the computer, "Okay so some of the bodies have been identified, 6 to be exact, I'm sending the victims information and pictures to your tablet right…now."

"Thanks Garcia." Emily said

Garcia smiled, "Over and out."

Rossi looked at his tablet and said, "So he definitely has a type, at least to a certain extent."

"He seems to like young dark hair, fair skinned beauties for sure, but what about the boy? It doesn't make sense. He can't be more than 20 years old. He's just a kid."

"The taking of the skin puts you in mind of Ed Gein who took the skin off his victims and wore it on his body as a way to change his gender. This un-sub could be making a jumpsuit like Ed Gein did and wear it on his body to try to transform himself into a woman."

"That would make sense if he was killing only women but the un-sub has at least killed one man." Morgan replied

"If he is making jumpsuits for himself of both men and women he may be having an identity crisis or he may be a transsexual who is suffering from a psychotic break."

Rossi looked at Emily, "Emily what's on your mind?" Hotch looked up from his file to look at the confused and concerning look on her face.

She looked up and tried to play off that sense of dread she had about the case and said, "Seeing that he does have a type at least for the women, what if the killings were triggered by a death or deaths. When we figure out how long the most decomposed body has been in there maybe we can get Garcia to go back and do a check on any deaths or accidents in the area during that time."

"That sounds like a plan." Rossi said.

Hotch looked back down at his file and then back up and said, "When we land Prentiss and I will go to the dump site, Rossi and Morgan work victimology, Reid you'll start a geographical profile and JJ you'll work with the media."

Emily looked back down at the pictures and she had this feeling that something bad was going to happen, she just couldn't put her finger on it. She looked out the window and thought to herself, _fair skin, and dark hair._

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_Please Review and let me know what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews they really encouraging they pushed me to get the next part done. I hope your enjoying it! _

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The team walked towards the glass doors at the front of the small police station located in Bitter Sweet, Arizona, with anticipation of the cool air, to sweep over their bodies, relieving them from the suffocating Arizona heat and before Emily walked through the door, Hotch stopped her outside while the rest of the team continued in, "Prentiss." She turns to look at him. He could tell something was bothering her and was concerned. "Is everything okay?"

"Sir?" She replied with a questioning look on her face, trying to play off that feeling she couldn't escape.

"I need to know your head is in this case." He said sternly trying to play off his own feelings of concern for her.

"It is sir. I can do my job if that is what you are questioning."

"I wasn't questioning your abilities to do this job…"

She cut him off by saying, "Well if were finished here I'd like to go inside and work on catching the man that has killed 32 innocent people." He nodded and she nodded back and continued inside. She had to keep her guard up. She didn't want Hotch thinking she thought something bad was going to happen or the fact that at least 5 of the un-sub's victims had her features made her skin crawl.

They both walked inside and when JJ saw Hotch she introduced Captain Russell. Captain Russell stuck out his hand, "Agent Hotchner we are glad to have ya'll down here, we have a room set up for you and are happy to help in any way we can."

"Thank you. If we could get someone to take myself and Agent Prentiss out to the dump site?"

"I'll take you myself. The location is pretty remote. The property owner discovered the site. He came across a coyote early this morning chewing on a human foot. He was pretty shaken up." Captain Russell explained as they walked out the front door.

"Someone was dumping the bodies on his property and he didn't know?" Emily questioned doubtfully.

"Well the property owner has 5000 acres of land."

"We will want to talk to him."

"As much as I do understand Agent Prentiss I don't think that is necessary. We have already spoken to him and he had little to offer."

"We still would like to speak to him we may pick up on something that could have easily been looked over."

"Yes ma'am I'll bring him in as soon as we get back from the dump site."

* * *

The scenic ride to the dump site was captivating; upon arrival the view went from captivating to grotesque as the partially decomposed bodies of 32 victims lay in row on the dusty Arizona ground. Some were being put into body bags while the others lay in the hot sun. Captain Russell grabbed 3 masks to cover up their faces, "You may want to put these on, the smell gets pretty bad." Hotch and Emily looked at one another in preparation for the smell they have encountered many times before, as they put the masks on their faces. When they exited the vehicle the smell infiltrated through their masks. Their immediate response was to put their hand over top the mask to press it even more firmly against their faces. When they walked up to the bodies they were greeted by the coroner.

"Hi, I'm Jane Sluss. Most of the bodies here are identifiable by gender and I believe it's safe to say that these victims were killed with in the last 3 months."

"The last 3 months, that is one short cooling off period." Emily added.

The coroner continued, "There are 24 females and 8 males. The skin removal on each victim was ante mortem and he killed them by strangulation. The skin that was removed from each of the victims ranged anywhere from one inch to twenty inches and they were all cut with perfect edges and on some you can even tell that there are ink markings on them where the cuts were made. One other thing, all of the victims had their clothes on and even if the victims clothes were cut it was put back in place and all the bodies were placed with their arms folded over their chest"

"He's remorseful…"

"…and sadistic." Emily added to Hotch's statement. The two agents both walked along the line of bodies looking at each one to see if there was anything that captured their attention that would be helpful to the case.

Emily's mind rushed back to earlier that morning, thinking how cliché it was that the red sky was fore warning of a storm and how that at that moment they were standing in the middle of it.

When they finished looking at all the bodies Hotch stated, "Captain I need to get this information back to my team."

"Right away Agent Hotchner."

As they were getting back into the vehicle the Captain hurried to open the door for Emily, "Agent Prentiss." He said placing his hand in the small of her back.

"Thank you Captain."

"No problem. We like to treat our ladies proper."

Hotch noticed the polite gesture from the Captain and immediately became jealous, but at the same time noticed the strangeness of it. _Why was he being so nice to Emily_? He thought. _Maybe I'm just over thinking it._

* * *

Later that night, inside the police station, the team found little comfort in the cool air as they began receiving news from Garcia and the local police officers. As the victims were identified JJ tacked their pictures on the board. They also received no help or clues from the property owner.

"The wounds are ante mortem which would cause an extreme amount of pain. He could be a sadist who gets off on the fear and pain he instills in his victims, but its contradicting that he would be remorseful by leaving on their clothing and placing them with their arms over their chest. And the fact that all the women look alike but all males don't is strange." Reid analyzed.

"The un-sub has to be strong enough to overpower his victims." Morgan added

Rossi walked up to the board and looked at the pictures of the victims that had been posted periodically throughout the day and said, "The only commonality among them, besides their looks, is that all of the victims are taken in the evening before going home. But how is he abducting them?"

Emily's phone rang, "Go ahead Garcia, you're on speaker."

"Hey crime fighters I went back 3-5 months ago and there were no accidents or deaths reported in the area other than heart attacks, cancer, or the occasional fender bender. Everything is pretty quiet, but fear not I did find some footage at a local gas station that might seem interesting. Here is one of the victims asking for some coffee and as you may notice behind the counter the cashier is putting something in her drink that is not sugar or creamer."

"Thanks Garcia." Morgan said and then they were disconnected.

"Any gas stations I've ever been to you get your coffee yourself."

"Emily's right, but there is something that doesn't make sense. If you keep watching after she leaves the cashier never leaves behind the counter. How can he be the one killing them?" Rossi said.

"We need to bring him in. He could be a partner." Hotch stated. "Morgan, Prentiss and I will go with Captain Russell to bring him in. The rest of you keep working."

Emily stood up from the table. She couldn't grasp why Hotch was pairing her with him all day. It was like he was keeping an eye on her. This initially made her mad but then she thought _maybe he genuinely cares, or he is a profiler and maybe he has noticed I'm not myself. Keep your guard up Emily. _She told herself.

* * *

Arriving back at the police station with the cashier Hotch and Morgan led the way through the glass doors with Morgan pushing the cashier to walk in front of him. Emily was going over the events of the day in her head and even with all the progress that they have made with the case Emily still felt un-easy, she couldn't shake the feeling she had and it was overwhelming her even more so than earlier. Something was off and she couldn't pick up on what it was, at that moment she felt a burning sensation shoot through every vein in her body paralyzing her movements, she tried desperately to open her mouth to shout for help but the words didn't come and her mouth couldn't move. Her eyes blinked furiously fighting unconsciousness. Between blinks she saw the blurred body of Morgan walking down the isolated hallway of the police station, she felt someone's arms go underneath hers and as she tried to look up she saw a star flickering in the night sky that blurred into total darkness.

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_Please review! I appreciate any comments! I hope it left you hanging wanting to read more! I'll try to post soon! Thanks again for the comments._


	3. Chapter 3

_It all comes together in this one, I promise! Thanks again for the reviews and thanks so much for reading I'm really excited about this story. Hope you enjoy._

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Inside Morgan puts the cashier inside the interrogation room and pulls the door shut to leave him in there and let him sweat. Rossi stepped up by Hotch, "How do you want to work this?"

"I want you and Prentiss to interrogate him. I want to see what kind of reaction he has to Prentiss."

"She has been acting weird all day. Her head is in this case but something has to be bothering her."

"I agree with Morgan she has been acting weird. Maybe it's because twenty four of the victims look like her." Reid said.

JJ looks around for Emily and doesn't see her anywhere, "Where is Emily?"

"She was right behind me when we came in."

The team looks around in the mix of police officers and she is nowhere to be seen, neither is Captain Russell.

"I don't see Captain Russell either." JJ said.

Seconds after she said his name he came around the corner of the door way. Hotch walked up to him with the team in tow, "Where is Agent Prentiss?"

"I think I saw her head for the bathroom."

"JJ." Hotch said staring at Captain Russell trying to read through every fiber of his being.

"Yes sir." JJ replied knowing that Hotch wanted her to go straight to the bathroom to check on her. JJ walked hurriedly to the bathroom. She opened the door and looked around. "Emily?" She said going from one stall to the next. Panic rushed over her body. She quickly left the bathroom and went back to where the team was. As soon as she rounded the corner the whole team new by the look on her face, "She's not in the bathroom."

Hotch's stomach sank. A feeling of dread and worry tried to overtake his body, shattering his ability to think rationally and exposing his emotions on how much he did care for her, but he fought it knowing he had to keep his head about him, if in fact she had been taken. "Search every inch of this building inside and out." The team frantically combed through every inch of the building. The police officers joined in their search. When they hollered out her name it was followed by an eerie silence. They searched through every inch of the parking lot. Hotch came by the back door and saw her cell phone. He picked it up and dropped his head. She was gone.

With his gun drawn, pointed at the ground, Morgan came around the corner of the building, "She is nowhere Hotch."

"I know." He said disheartened. "I found her cell phone." Hotch's heart began to race. He had not felt like this since he knew Foyet had contact with Haley. He almost felt guilty that his feelings were so strong for her. He had not realized it before and at the same time began feeling guilty. He put his head back down with his hand on his forehead.

The rest of the team came around the building. They saw the phone in Hotch's hand. "I noticed when I went to check to see if she was in the bathroom that the back door is located by the bathroom. She could have been attacked and drug out the back."

"What do we do Hotch?" Morgan said waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Work a profile and interrogate the cashier it's the only weapons we have to save her life."

Captain Russell rushed out the back door, "Agent Hotchner the cashier is gone! He's not in the interrogation room."

The already agitated Morgan snapped at him, "What do you mean is not there?" Morgan looked to Hotch.

Hotch walked up to Captain Russell which took all of one step, "You mean to tell me out of all the men you have in this police station no one was watching him or saw him walk out of this building! He was our only chance at getting information to help us catch the un-sub! Get every available police officer in the area on the streets and find him!" Hotch commanded. "JJ get in touch with the surrounding PD and have their men on the lookout."

"Yes sir."

"Hotch I'm going with the Captain. I can't sit in that police station knowing Emily is out there and a man is on the run." Morgan told him.

"Fine let me know the second you find out anything."

Reid, Rossi and Hotch were left standing outside, "We need to re-work the profile." Hotch said.

"How much time do you think we have?"

"Reid we don't have time…" Hotch answered as if the question completed annoyed him.

Reid went inside.

Hotch was obviously flustered. His head was in a panic and his emotions were trying to take over. "Hotch?" Rossi asked in a concerned voice, walking closer to Hotch who had his back to him.

"I don't know what I'll do if we lose her." Hotch said more calmly in a quiet tone

"You care a lot about her don't you?" Rossi asked.

"More than I've shown." Hotch replied by looking down almost embarrassed and then he looked up at Rossi.

Rossi put his hand on Hotch's shoulder, "Then let's go find her."

* * *

The next few hours they worked tirelessly on the profile, and then around midnight the police officers slowly trickled back in along with Morgan. Just about that time Reid received a call from Garcia. They put her on speaker and the first words out of her mouth were, "Any news?"

"None right now baby girl but you better have some news for us." Morgan responded.

"I went back three years like the genius Dr. Reid requested and came across a car accident that took place in Bitter Sweet, Arizona 6 months ago, involving a Harvey Russell and Rose Russell. Rose's seat broke on impact slamming her against the dash board which broke her ribs, that punctured her lungs, meanwhile Harvey was barely conscious as he held his wife's hand. The police reports states that Harvey could feel the life leave his wife's body. The son was killed by being thrown out of the vehicle because he wasn't wearing his seat belt. Harvey himself had a concussion that caused some minor damage to his brain but was later released without any problems and was back and working three months later at…" She stopped talking, typing frantically to find out where he works she came back with, "…the Bitter Sweet PD."

"Captain Russell?" Reid said, "Garcia do you have a picture of his wife?"

"Yes, my loves I just sent them to your phones."

"Hotch." Morgan said, "She looks just like Emily."

"Find our girl and bring her home safe."

"Thanks, Baby girl we'll let you know something when we do."

"Stay safe." And she was disconnected.

"Where's the Captain?" Hotch asked.

"He is still out there looking." Morgan said.

Rossi looked at the team and said, "I guess it's safe to say he is not coming back."

"Now we know his stressor." Morgan added.

Reid went over to his desk and looked around and as his brain was analyzing he looked around the room and noticed three places where something recently had been taken off the wall. He walked up to a police officer, "What was hanging on the walls?"

"They were beautiful mosaics that Captain Russell had done himself, but after his wife and son died he had to take them down when he came back to work, because when he looked at them he would get dizzy and he said his heart would start beating fast."

Reid's head went to work analyzing all the facts that he just discovered, "Guys! Guys! I got it." He said running back over to the team, "It all makes sense now, the brain injury, the pieces of skin, the pictures missing from the walls, the dizziness, and rapid heartbeat…"

Hotch was growing impatient, "Reid!"

"I believe he is suffering from Stendhal's Syndrome. It's a problem in the brain that causes people to have hallucinations, dizziness, rapid heartbeat and confusion."

JJ had an unbelievable look on her face, "That sounds a little farfetched."

"No just listen, according to the officers a few pictures had to be removed from these walls because he exhibited symptoms of this syndrome and they were pictures he created. I believe he is killing these victims and taking pieces of their skin to create a mosaic of his wife and son. But not just any mosaic the ultimate mosaic that would ultimately create the most realistic hallucination of his wife and son."

"Find his address, we're going to his house." Hotch ordered.

Hotch felt some glimmer of hope, a hope he may see her again and be able to rescue her from this nightmare.

* * *

Screams began pulling her out of unconsciousness, when she first opened her eyes to the blinding light they quickly shut back and then began blinking open until they adjusted. When they were fully opened she looked in the direction of the screams, which was past two tables that had young women on each of them and on the third was a young scrawny looking boy. She noticed that Captain Russell was the one inflicting the pain on the young boy; he was the un-sub. "Captain Russell! You don't have to do this!" She yelled at him

"Nice to see your awake Agent Prentiss." He looked back at her and smiled and then turned back around to return to his cutting.

Emily tried again to rationalize with him. "You're a rational person; you don't have to do this! You gain nothing from this!"

The Captain laid his tools down, "Oh but I do." He walked over to the wall that climbed thirty feet high. "You see this, when I look at it I can almost touch them again, you see them they're standing right there." He looked and reached out his hand as if it was desperately holding on to something.

Emily cringed at the wall knowing that each piece placed on there was a piece of someone, an innocent victim. Her skin crawled looking at the partly finished mosaic of a woman and young boy whose faces of human flesh were staring them down. She had seen worse but this bothered her down to her core she looked away from the faces back towards Captain Russell, "But why kill us?"

His mind lost focus by the sound of her voice; he turned and walked over to her bending only inches from her face to say, "So you can suffer the same pain as my wife." He walked back over to the young boy.

It was obvious that his primary focus was his wife and the pain she suffered. Emily looked at the two women lying next to her. Their eyes were filled with fear and they were balling knowing the torture that they were soon to face. The screaming began again. She pulled her arms and feet that were restrained by leather straps. There was no hope in getting free but she kept fighting. She just had to save this young man. She looked over at him, "You're going to be okay, look at me." She said calmly trying to bring his attention away from the torture he was suffering.

The young boy was crying, and writhing in pain as he screamed, "But it hurts so bad, make it stop!"

Emily's eyes glistened with tears, but she didn't let one fall, she couldn't give up, "Hold on. It will be okay, just look at me. I'm right here with you." She pulled harder on her restraints. She turned her attention to the Captain, "Leave him alone!" The Captain again put his tools down and moved his hands towards the boy's neck, she yelled, "Stop! You don't have to do this!" The boy's hands and feet moved fiercely creating loud banging noises on the metal table as he tried fighting for air. All became soon became still.

The only sounds left were the terrifying cries of the young women. Another person dead, for this man's gain, she couldn't stop it, and it was too late. A tear rolled down her cheek. She closed her eyes and Hotch's face flashed through her mind. Oh how she would love for him to come in and sweep her away from all this. She had wondered _why all of a sudden was Hotch the one who entered her mind? Has she really suppressed her feelings for him that much, that now in a time where she was completely venerable he was the one she wanted to come save her?_

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_Hope things are a little more clear. Thanks for reading! Please Review and the next chapter will sum it all up. Will Hotch make it in time to rescue her?_


	4. Chapter 4

_Here it is the last part! I hope you've enjoyed reading it! Thanks for all the comments and kind words you guys kept me motivated_

* * *

Emily heard the Captain undoing the young boy's leather binds. She looked over to see his lifeless, fear frozen eyes staring at her, deep into her soul, as if he was blaming her for his death. In a desperate attempt to suppress her feelings of guilt, she thought maybe she could rationalize with the Captain, "It's a waste of innocent lives. He was just young boy with his whole life ahead of him; you didn't have to kill him." She said trying to personalize it desperately attempting to get him to empathize with his victims.

He turned around with the boy in his arms, "A waste, this isn't a waste! A waste was my wife and son dying! Every life I feel leave these bodies, these victims, as you call them, is life that is put back into my wife and son! The more I kill the closer I get to holding them in my arms." He said looking over towards his partly finished mosaic. Emily noticed 2 tears drip down his face, and then he turned and walked out carrying the lifeless body of a young boy whose life was wasted at the hands of killer.

* * *

When the team and cavalry of police officers arrived at the Captain's home, Hotch led them in, kicking in the door. A frantic search ended only in disappointment with no one to be found. Hotch looked around and ordered his team and police officers to, "Tear it apart, he has a second location where he's killing."

A police officer ran up to him, "Agent Hotchner, we found the cashier, but…"

"But what?"

"He was found lying along side of the road with his throat slit."

* * *

While the Captain was gone Emily looked to the two women lying next to her. The name of the woman farthest from her was Tracey and the other woman's name is Hannah. A couple of hours passed before the Captain returned to them. When he did Tracey looked towards Emily, "I don't know if I can do this! I'm scared!"

"It will be okay Tracey. Show him no fear and keep your eyes on me." Emily quickly thought how she could distract him long enough to keep him from cutting on her. "Captain, I'm curious how did you get me here, with Morgan and Hotch right in front of us?"

He chuckled to himself, "It was easy, Hotch and Morgan were preoccupied with Peter, I mean the cashier, and all I had to do was inject you with a sedative. You fell right into my arms. I dragged you into the trunk of my vehicle. I then took your cell phone and placed it by the back door. I quickly went back inside and told them you went to the bathroom making it look like you were abducted and taken out the back."

"You know they've probably already figured you out and are on their way here right now."

"No Agent Prentiss they will never find me out here."

"You under estimate them." She said with a smile knowing the capabilities of her team, she began to struggle with her bands again as the he walked closer to Tracey.

"Emily!" Tracey screamed, "Please do something!"

Emily looked around and saw the wall and had an idea, "Captain I can see her, she's reaching out and so is your son."

He turned around quickly and became entranced at the wall. He walked over to it. Emily noticed his breathing become more rapid and he put his hand over his heart. He looked at the candles lined on a table and lit them. Then he fell to the ground, just as if he fainted.

When he fell to the ground, Tracey was relieved and said, "Thank you Emily, thank you." Tears were streaming down her face.

Emily looked over at her and nodded with a half smile and then looked back over at him lying on the floor. She wasn't sure what just happened but she was glad it worked.

Five minutes passed and he began to stir. He got up off the floor slowly, "This will be the biggest piece yet, and my wife told me I need a heart shaped piece to go in the center." He walked swiftly back over to Tracey.

"No! No! Please stop! I'll do anything, I don't want to die!" She screamed at him.

Emily's eyes again began glistening with tears but again she held them back pleading for him to save her life, "Captain! Captain! Leave her alone! Use me instead!" It wasn't working she didn't know what to do. She was panicking. He was now using the marker on her abdomen to draw a heart. Emily fought, her bands seemed to be looser, and maybe if she tried hard enough she could pull them off. She struggled and then it started. The screaming filled her ears. "Tracey, Tracey look at me!" Tracey's eyes glanced over to her in horror. "You're strong! It's going to be okay!" The pleading and screaming continued for ten minutes and when he took her life from her body Emily laid her head back down trying to catch her breath, again there was nothing she could do. Another life lost again, guilt rushed over her. _It is my fault, I couldn't stop it. _She looked to Hannah whose face was drenched in tears. Hannah looked back at Emily. There was no hope left. Emily was running out of ideas.

* * *

Back at the Captain's house the team had turned it upside down coming up empty. Rossi sat on the end of the dining table and then it came to him, "What about the cashier? Maybe all the missing pieces are located at his house. It could be why he killed him."

"Let's go. I'll get his name from the deputy and an address from Garcia." Hotch said. In less than five minutes they had an address and were on their way.

Again they raided another house and turned it upside down and came up empty. Morgan was looking around the bedroom when he saw the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from underneath the mattress. He flipped the mattress and 3 pieces of paper went flying. He quickly picked them up and scanned over them. It was a deed for a piece of land, a receipt for sedatives, and a piece of paper with a layout of a house, with a huge cathedral ceiling. "Hotch! I've got something here!" The team rushed in. Morgan handed the papers over to Hotch.

Hotch soon felt a sense of relief, but also a sense of urgency. She had a chance, but they had to hurry. While he was running out of the house, memories of her flashed through his mind, her laugh, her beautiful smile, her incredible insight and wittiness, but most of all those beautiful eyes that he could get lost in. A thought of him holding her in his arms swept across him mind, how he so desperately wanted to make everything okay and just maybe he had the chance to do so.

* * *

The Captain returned and got straight to work drawing lines on Hannah's thighs, portions of her arm and face. He again began cutting. Hannah's cries for help seemed to exceed those of the previous victims. She had no control and was lost in this man's torture.

For Emily the screams and cries of the victims were embedded in her memory. Nothing she said or did could stop it, she couldn't make it go away. Her attempt to rationalize with him or draw the attention of the victims away from him had failed. She broke and lost all composure unable to compartmentalize the horrors taking place right in front of her and suddenly found herself screaming in a fit of uncontrolled rage for him to stop.

Fifteen to twenty minutes later the room again was filled with silence. Emily felt sick to her stomach as the bile crept up her throat, but she swallowed it back down. Her eyes felt swollen from the streams of tears that poured down her face. Her face was aching from screaming and pleading and her throat was scratchy and sore. She was drained physically and emotionally. Her body lay limp on the table, she closed her eyes. Her mind was flooded with memory of the first moments she met Hotch and the natural attraction she seemed to have to him. Her stomach was filled with butterflies thinking about him. She had never felt this way before.

Seconds later the touch of a hand sweeping up her arm jumped her back to reality. He hadn't left this time to take Hannah away he was going straight to her. She had no energy to cry, scream, rationalize, or fight back. The Captain chuckled, "I guess I won't have to cut your shirt, buttons make it easy. And I guess your team wasn't as smart as you thought.

_My team, Reid, Morgan, JJ, Garcia, Rossi, and Hotch_ a rush of images flashed in front of her face and each one brought tears to her eyes _I'm not going out without a fight._ She jerked again and kept jerking, the bands felt looser.

"No need in fighting Agent Prentiss."

Another jerk and her right arm was free, the Captain picked up the knife as Emily's hand reached for it. The shiny blade came ever so close to her body. She tried to hold it off with just one hand but she couldn't and the blade pierced through her side with a rush of hot pain. As fast as the blade pierced her body it was pulled back out letting the blood ooze from her side. This had the same repeated feeling again and again, over and over as he continued to stab her in a fit of rage. She had to stop it.

Emily grabbed his arm trying to pull him over top the table, and the action caused the table to flip on its side, sending the Captain in a summersault over top Emily, rolling him into the wooden table with the burning candles. The candles were sent flying across the room igniting pieces of flesh that had yet to be hung on the wall.

She saw the flames ignite rapidly with burning flesh. Then the flames crept towards the wall and once in contact with the dried flesh he had hung the fire was all consuming. In no time the entire wall was flaming. The heat from the flames was almost unbearable and the smoke restricted her breathing.

With her right hand she started working on the leather band, on her left arm. While she was working with the band the Captain slowly stood up. He went over to her metal table and picked it back up right. He raised the blade above her chest, ready to plunge it in her heart, and then when all hope was non-existent she was splattered with blood, his blood.

She looked to her left and saw her team standing there. Hotch had shot Captain Harvey Russell, he had ended the nightmare. Tears of relief rolled down her face as she tried to hold them back. Smoke again began filling her lungs causing her to cough.

"Morgan! Rossi! Help me get her undone!" Hotch yelled. They all rushed over to her table. Hotch's heart sank when he saw all the stab wounds on her left side, and the pain in her eyes. "You're going to be okay. We will get you out of here." He said trying to comfort her. In no time her feet and hands were free. Hotch swept her up in his arms. "Go! Go!" He yelled at everyone. Hotch felt a tug on his Kevlar of Emily trying to pull herself closer to him.

Outside of the house he put her on the gurney, inside the ambulance. In the commotion of the EMTs she reached for Hotch's hand and he heard his name come from her lips as they put an oxygen mask on her face. He grasped her hand and sat down where she could see him. He brushed the hair from her face. No words were spoken as the ambulance rushed an hour up the road to the hospital. By the time they reached the hospital she was unconscious.

* * *

Two hours passed and the doctor came out to talk to the team, "She is doing fine and she will make a full recovery physically. She had seven stab wounds to different places on her left side and bruises to her wrists and ankles."

"Can we see her?" Reid asked.

"Yes she is asking for you."

The team headed towards her room. Hotch didn't take off, he seemed reluctant to see her and Rossi noticed as the rest of the team continued on. "We may have Emily back, but I doubt we have the old Emily back."

"So what am I supposed to do? I haven't felt like this since…Haley."

"Be her friend, I have a feeling she is going to need one." Rossi said to him smiling.

"Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

"Sure, no problem."

Emily saw the team walk around the doorway, she greeted them with her big smile, "Hey guys it's so good to see you." Each came up to her bed and gave her a hug. She looked around and saw no Hotch. "Where's Hotch?"

Rossi spoke up, "He'll be here in a minute."

Oh how Emily so wanted to see him. She tried to put him in the back of her mind while the team was in there talking and asking questions. The longer they stayed the more surprised she was at how good she kept on this mask of being completely okay.

Hotch walked in. Rossi noticed and said, "Why don't we all go to the hotel and get some rest?" Everyone agreed, said their goodbyes and walked out of the room with the exception of Hotch.

Once the room was cleared he broke the silence, "How are you doing?" He said standing in the door way with his hands resting on hips.

"Okay." She said smiling at him. He walked over to her and saw the bruises on her wrists. She saw the look of concern in his eyes as he looked down at her hands, "They'll go away."

"I know. I just can't help think if we had got their sooner maybe this wouldn't have happened." He said feeling guilty and blaming himself for her injuries. He sat down in the chair and looked at the floor.

"You got there in time to save me from what would have been a certain death." She said trying to reassure him.

"But if we had got their sooner…" His eyes looked as if he was holding back tears when he looked at her, though none fell. Hotch was reluctant as he grabbed her hands, but he just could hold himself back. "Anything you need, or if you need to talk just ask either me or one of the team members."

A couple of tears fell down her face, partially because she liked that Hotch showed he cared so much and partially because she was in pain mentally and physically. She looked at him and squeezed her hands around his, "I would like it very much if someone stayed the night with me. I don't want to be alone."

"No problem." For the first time he saw tears rolling down her face. He stood up and with his thumb wiped away her tears. "Just rest. I'll be right back." She leaned back and closed her eyes.

Outside her door he called Dave, "Dave, I'm going to be staying here tonight."

"Good, but I have bad news, Strauss just called and we have new case. We need to be back in Quantico tomarrow ASAP."

"Go without us. Tell Strauss we need some personal time and we will drive back."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Thanks Dave."

"No problem. You take care of our girl."

"I will."

"Let us know if something happens."

"I will, good night."

"Goodnight Hotch."

They hung up and Hotch walked back into her room. As she lay there resting, all he wanted to do was hold her and make everything go away. He settled for just being there at the moment and sat down in the chair next to her bed. A few hours later he was awakened by her talking she was saying in an almost whisper, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's my fault, please." Her breathing increased and became more panicky. "No!" She yelled waking herself up. She looked around and saw Hotch looking at her. Embarrassed, her faced turned a light shade of red "Hotch I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"What is your fault?" He asked.

"It's the victims. Their dead eyes staring into me as if they are blaming me for their deaths. There screams and cries for help are pounding in my head. I couldn't do anything to stop it."

Hotch leaned in closer to her, "It's not your fault. You did what you could."

She was not crying, but at this point seemed angry and she continued, "What I did wasn't good enough. I should have tried harder."

"What you did wouldn't have mattered. We should have got their sooner, and maybe their lives could have been saved." She closed her eyes again to fall back asleep. Hotch held her hand through the night. She woke up two or three more times that night and every time she did Hotch was there to comfort her. He would place his hand on her forehead and rub her hair back every time she woke, coaxing her to go back to sleep.

Emily didn't reject his comforting presence and in fact felt better and safe knowing he was there. She loved the feel of his hand in hers and the feel of his hand rubbing her forehead. How they both needed it. Hotch wanted to be there just as much as she needed him there.

* * *

A couple of days passed and she was finally released from the hospital. She had got dressed and was sitting on the edge of her bed looking at the floor. Hotch stepped in the doorway. Emily noticed and put her guard up again, she smiled, "Thank you for staying with me. I needed the time off."

"I hope you like road trips…" He said smiling, "…we're driving back to Quantico. I figured it would be a good time to clear your head."

"I love road trips, but what about Jack?" She wondered knowing that the time he was spending with her could be spent with Jack.

"Garcia introduced me to Skype."

"Good ole Garcia and her technology." Emily said as she tried to stand up. She was wincing in pain and suddenly felt his arm slip around her waist to help steady her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She got quiet and he could tell her mind was racing, "What happened to Hannah's body?"

"They were able to get it out of the house before it burned down. She was buried yesterday."

"Before we leave, that is if you don't mind, could we go to their gravesites. I just want to say goodbye."

"Of course." He said curiously, wondering what type of reaction or affect this may have on her.

* * *

At the grave site the victims were all buried right in a row. Emily stood looking at them; tears started streaming down her face. Hotch wasn't sure how to react he wanted to pull her in close but hesitated. "These three people left this world hating me. I couldn't stop it." She said. She leaned down on one knee in front of the young boy's grave, wincing with the pain and Hotch helped guide her and balance her as she ran her fingers over top is name. "Jacob." She said. Her crying increased and as much as Hotch wanted to wrap his arms around her he gave her, her space. She stood back up with Hotch's assistance.

Emily was trying to wipe the tears away as fast as they were coming. Hotch just couldn't resist any more, he embraced her and she accepted. "Hotch?" She said with her head leaning against his chest.

"Yeah?"

"How am I going to get over this?"

"It will take time, but I will be here by your side every step of the way." He said in a comfort to her as she released all the pain she had seen and experienced.

The two stood there by the graves, in each other's embrace as the Arizona sun crept up over the horizon, lighting up the desolate landscape. With her head still leaning on his chest her sobs became more stifled and decreased as she watched the start of a new day in hopes of a new beginning.

* * *

_Please review, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully my writing will get better and a little more descriptive as I go along. I'm really into dialogue lol :) Thanks again_


	5. Chapter 5

_If you want more Emily and Hotch I have posted two chapters to another story called "She's not okay" if you're interested. It's a case that comes up after this one has ended. Hotch and Emily are going to let their emotions out into the open. Thanks again for reading and all the support and comments from everyone!_


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